Work Text:
“Attention all Wayne Enterprises employees, please proceed to evacuate the building in a calm and orderly fashion. If you are captured by the villain, please–”
Tim groaned, covering his eyes as his afternoon meeting was interrupted. This PA announcement was used by WE whenever there was an attack of some kind on the building, a program he had written one night that can detect life-threatening situations to the employees working. It was like a fire drill, but it was primarily used for if WE was ever part of a rogue attack in the middle of the day and employees needed to be warned in time to escape. Tim also designed it so that it doubled as an alert for the BatCave so that someone else can come to help since oftentimes, he or Bruce would be indisposed and have to act as civilians in the situation.
“Ten bucks says it's some prototype for Batman or something that got loose,” one of the board members whispered to another, but Tim still heard them. He was afraid that they were right.
“What if it’s actually an attack this time? Shouldn’t we be getting out of here just in case?” The man who was spoken to whimpered, rubbing his hands together as he shuffled forward. He looked ready to bolt any second now.
Tim was already a step ahead of the man though, pulling open his personal app version of the alarm to find a camera that might be near the source of the disturbance. Flicking through every camera in the building was a tad time consuming, but he spent it hoping that this was actually a rogue attack and not what he knew the situation probably was. Pulling up a hallway view of the downstairs labs however, Tim was unfortunately proven right as he saw a tall lanky man running and hopping down the hallway after a small bat-shaped drone. He was pretty sure if there was sound on this camera, he’d be hearing a lot of very colorful cursing as the man was shot at by his own device and proceeded to flip it off…multiple times.
“Idiot,” Tim muttered to himself, shaking his head as he calmly stood to address the room. “Excuse me? Ladies and gentleman, I apologize for the concerning announcement, but I promise you that this is not a rogue attack.”
“Is it Danny again sir?” Tom Jenkins asked him, smirking as he held a hand out to his assistant standing nearby.
Tim frowned, irritated that the man interrupted him. “Yes it is, so please remain calm and I’ll let you all come up with a time to reschedule this meeting. Please inform Tam of any changes you decide, excuse me.”
He chose to ignore the transfer of money between Jenkins and a few others, deciding to instead grab his bag and hand it off to Tam before leaving the conference room. Tim had a genius to throttle.
******
Danny felt a chill down his spine instead of a burst of cold between his lips for once. That was not a good feeling, he was ghost enough to admit that he didn’t like it.
A throat was cleared quite obviously in the hallway behind him and Danny winced, refusing to turn around even as he heard footsteps stomping towards his position. He had been chasing down the latest Bat-drone prototype he’d been working on for Bruce and after an hour of chasing it around, he’d managed to finally knock it down with an oversized bug zapper he stole from a coworker's station. (Danny left a note for them apologizing because he kinda…broke it.)
“Daniel James Nightingale.” Oof , he was getting the full-name treatment. Danny hunched his shoulders up to his ears and readied his most pitiful puppy dog face before turning to look behind him, chin resting on his shoulder.
“Yes Tim? How can I help you today, my lovable insomniac?” Danny batted his eyelashes at Tim and inwardly hoped he wouldn’t have all of his devices hacked again. Last time he upset Tim, the man had coded all of his shit to play the “Rick Roll” music all day long and it lasted a whole week.
Tim’s eye twitched at the nickname before he did a perfect copy of Bruce’s tired Dad image, one hand fisted on a hip and the other pinching the bridge of his nose. It was cute how frustrated he got with Danny sometimes and despite knowing he was in trouble right now, Danny couldn’t help but drop the ditzy act to give Tim a fond lopsided smile.
Tim noticed and frowned at him, “Don’t give me that look you little shit. I’m supposed to be mad at you.”
“Well, why do you have to be mad at me?” Danny shrugged, twisting a little to hide the miniature drone from Tim’s sightline. “I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Tim’s face shuttered before he sighed heavily, dropping his face into his hands. “I can see the damn drone Danny, why do you have to try lying so badly? Have we not taught you better by now?”
Danny smirked, knowing he was winning but enjoying Tim’s reactions nonetheless. “Guess I’m still in the tutorial stage,” he lifted his hands in a placating gesture and got comfy on the ground. “Give me a couple more years of friendship, maybe I won’t be a disappointment to you anymore.”
Tim scowled at him, “If you even survive a few more years. I may just kill you again myself before then, you lunatic.” He stormed past Danny into the lab, snatching up the bat-drone on his way and grumbling to himself.
Danny just laughed, knowing that Tim was annoyed but not actually angry enough to come after him like he claimed. They had been friends for a few years now, ever since Danny ran off to Gotham at seventeen and convinced the bats to let him help protect the crime-ridden city. At first, they all thought he was just a helpful protector spirit, doomed to look after the lives of the living for eternity because of how tragically he had died himself. Danny was okay with that though, he had tried to steer the narrative in that direction so they wouldn't find out he was a halfa and turn him in for experimentation.
But then one day Duke ran into him on campus after Danny got accepted in Gotham U and ruined the whole plan with his blabbermouth. Thankfully, the whole family was a lot more accepting than Danny gave them credit for initially. They had even gone as far as to involve their separate teams in taking down the GIW on his behalf and giving him a standing invitation to the manor. Bruce even tried adopting him but Danny had declined, thankfully already past eighteen at that point, and it amused him to no end that all of the kids still made fun of the man to this day for being rejected.
Danny looked over towards where Tim had sat down in his designated chair, right near Danny's own in his lab. The vigilante was determined to ignore him, it seemed, content to examine Danny's prototype while he cooled down. He smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners as he watched Tim's bangs fall in his eyes and he ignored them--simply blowing small puffs of air to push them away. Danny shook his head, huffing silently in amusement and pushing himself up off the floor to walk towards Tim.
He didn't know why, but being around Tim was easy from the start and his core was always content just sitting near the other man. Leaning on the counter, Danny watched Tim fiddle with his project and use Danny's tools as though they were his own. He smiled when he noticed Tim pucker his lips to blow his bangs out of his eyes again, the action warming his core a little.
“...what are you doing?” Tim asked him, pausing with his fingers holding colored wires from the main control panel. Danny furrowed his brows, confused for a few seconds until he felt the sensation of something soft falling around his own hand. Glancing away from Tim's face, he saw that he had run a hand through Tim's bangs to keep them from falling anymore.
Danny blanched and quickly removed his hand with an awkward laugh, surprised with how easily Tim's silky hair slid through his fingers. “Sorry! Didn’t realize I did that,” he huffed and ran a hand over the back of his neck, turning his eyes away from Tim's questioning gaze. “Must be the ghost thing, it was minor but the bangs were bothering you so my ghost side must have seen it as protecting you or something.” Danny shrugged, hoping Tim would buy the story because Danny had no clue why he instinctively touched his best friend like that.
Tim was silent for a few moments, craning his neck around and searching Danny's eyes for something until he just pulled away shaking his head. “You're such a weirdo you know that? Be more careful though, we don't want you doing that to anyone else okay? It could turn into an HR issue and I've got enough paperwork to deal with concerning you.”
Danny could feel the sweat on his spine, but ignored it as he leaned back and crossed his arms. Putting on air of confidence like he would with a rogue, Danny smirked at Tim who had abandoned the bat-drone for now. “What, you mean you don't absolutely love working with me Timmy?”
Tim curled his upper lip at the nickname, “You're a menace.”
“But I'm your menace,” Danny pointed out, smiling softly. Tim only pulled out his phone and began typing away at a furious speed Danny had only seen out of Tucker when they were kids. The nostalgia he felt was ruined though when he heard “Baby Shark” begin playing out of his pocket and saw Tim grinning evilly.
Danny groaned as Tim laughingly told him, “And I'm yours. ”
*************
“So, how are you and Danny celebrating Christmas this year?” Steph threw out in the middle of playing Mario Kart for Dick's “Sibling Bonding Time” this weekend.
Tim didn't even notice when he got hit with a red shell, abandoning his controller to give Stephanie a confused glance. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, my bad,” Steph winced. “Are you guys celebrating a different holiday or just doing something like a special dinner for the two of you? I forgot he really hates Christmas and only grudgingly puts up with it for all of us.”
Tim honestly didn't know how to respond, so all that came out was: “Huh?”
Dick walked into the room at that time however and his nosy older brother decided to join in. “What are we talking about?”
“I'm trying to find out what Tim and Danny are doing for the holidays, but he's being stubborn,” Steph told him, crossing her arms with a pout.
Am I being pranked right now? What is she going on about? Tim just sat on the couch, his eyebrows raised as he observed the idiots badgering him in the hopes of finding a tick to expose their stupid game.
Dick legit squealed and hopped over the back of the couch to land next to Tim, his bowl of popcorn transferred to Steph as he tugged Tim into his arms in an octopus hug. Dick cooed at him, “Third Bird I wanna know too! This is so exciting, you're first Christmas together--how are you celebrating?”
Tim shoved his way out of his older brother's arms before the man choked him in excitement and got off the couch, turning to stare them both down. “What the hell are you two talking about? Danny comes over every year, this isn't the first holiday season we've spent with his grumpy Scrooge ass!”
Dick and Steph gave each other a side eye for a moment before they gave him twin looks of concern. Tim was getting impatient and at this point, the other siblings in the room were paying rapt attention to their (in Tim’s opinion) weird conversation.
Dick moved first, leaning forward on his knees and steepling his fingers together. “Tim, I don't think we're on the same page here.”
Tim scoffed, “Wow, what an amazing detective you are Dick.”
Steph shook her head in disappointment, “There he goes. He got all upset and now he's gonna be sassy the rest of the night. How does Danny put up with your annoying ass all day every day?”
Tim frowned, “We don’t see each other all day--I have meetings!”
She smirked, “But you see each other every day? You didn't deny that part.”
Tim groaned, pulling his hair in frustration at this conversation. What were they even asking him? Everyone knew Danny hated Christmas and that he comes to the manor every year for a few hours to get some of Alfred's food then he disappears until New Year's Eve. It never changes, so why are they demanding to know about some nonexistent plans between him and Danny for the holidays?
He heard Jason sigh from his spot in the old recliner nearby. Tim turned to see the irritation pass over his older brother's face before he dragged a hand down it and shook his controller in the air. “Replacement, just tell them what you're doing for your date already so we can get back to the game. I've got a blue shell with Steph's name on it.”
He felt his mind blue screen at Jason's words. Date? What date? With who? They all know he broke up with Bernard almost a year ago and that he hasn't seen anyone else since then. What does this have to do with Danny?
“...th to Tim. Earth to Timmy boy! You still with us there, Replacement?” Jason prodded him, not moving from his spot but throwing skittles at Tim’s head. Tim nodded mutely, giving wide eyes to all of them as he processed what was happening.
“Do…you guys think I'm going on a date with Danny for some reason?” Tim felt his voice disappear by the end of his question, embarrassment closing off his throat and burning his ears. Danny was his best friend--but they weren't dating! Why would they do that? Danny wouldn't be interested in Tim, and he was too busy to think about dating anyone after Bernard anyway.
“Uh…yeah? Haven’t you guys been dating for months now?” Steph pinched her lips, shooting him an “are you stupid?” look and at that moment, he really felt like an idiot. He felt like Bart. Was Tim suddenly pulled through the multiverse into a parallel reality where he and Danny were a couple? How could that have happened though?
“What?” Tim managed to squeak out, trying his damndest to ignore the burning sensation moving from his ears to his cheeks.
Dick hummed from the couch and leaned towards Tim who had begun sinking to his knees, not even realizing he was doing it. Dick reached out to move Tim’s hands away from where they were heading to cover his hot face. “Tim…are you not in a relationship with Danny?”
Tim shook his head vehemently, shooting a pitiful face towards his big brother. “Nooo….” He moaned, wishing he could pull his hair again but Dick still had his hands trapped. How did they all come to this conclusion?
“Wait! But you guys share each other's plates when we go out to eat, and you order stuff the other person would like!” Steph cried out.
“You also hog him for patrols so you two can talk for hours without having to be on comms with the rest of us,” Jason added in.
“Danny literally wears two jackets so when you inevitably get cold he can give you one, even though he doesn't feel cold because of his powers!”
“Tim, you planned an all out surprise party for Danny to celebrate the GIW's disbanding after you blew up their bases--more cruelly I might add--than you did any of the League's bases.”
“Danny carries around spare chargers in case you two are out and your electronics are low battery because we all know you're too scatterbrained to remember.”
“You always give each other these fond little smiles that are so gross to watch–” Tim cried out, cutting Jason off as the humiliation overwhelmed him.
“Tim?” Dick questioned him, tugging to keep Tim's hands from covering his face but it was to no avail. He stewed in his own mind, thoughts racing as his siblings’ (and Steph’s) words rang through his head.
Did Tim like Danny that way? Did they really act so close that everyone around them just assumed they were dating? Tim thought back on the time they've spent together but particularly since he broke up with Bernard, no longer in a serious relationship. He had been sad, yes, but also remembered feeling immensely relieved about the fact that he no longer had to restrict his time or interactions with Danny. Yes, Bernard wasn’t insanely jealous of his friendships but Tim hadn’t wanted to make any waves so he kept himself a bit distant with his close friends so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings.
But after they broke up, Danny had been the first person Tim called and he had held the vigilante in his arms for hours as he cried. Tim felt his face reheat as he remembered other times like Danny wrapping him up in a pile of blankets after a winter night patrol, rushing to get hot cocoa and his antibiotics. Danny, pulling his hair back and sneaking him treats whenever Tim managed to get himself sick from overworking or a rogue attack. Danny, bringing him coffee when Alfred has him on a ban at the manor, claiming it’s his own but he doesn’t take a sip out of the cup. Danny, being the one person who has stood by Tim even when everyone else thought he had finally lost it and even went into the Timestream himself to find Bruce.
Danny…who was the most important person in Tim’s life and who made Tim’s heart race sometimes, who could make him laugh like no one else, and who made him feel like he was understood for the first time in his life. Holy shit …
Tim stared open mouthed at the wall, zoning out and completely ignoring Dick’s panicked fretting over him or Jason smart ass remarks. He could faintly hear his older brother screech, “Guys I think we broke him!”
An arm snaking around his throat broke Tim from his trance. “Timberlina, are you still with us in there?” Jason goaded him, tugging Tim towards the couch to sit there instead of where he had been kneeling on the floor.
“Mmmhmm,” Tim hummed, not fully paying attention. His mind was racing and he was mentally kicking himself for how stupidly oblivious he’s been this whole time.
Dick carefully sat next to him and poked him in the cheek, jumping a few inches away in case Tim reacted but he didn’t. He ignored his eldest brother as he whispered, horrified, “I think we broke Tim.”
********************
Danny knew that something was up with him, but he couldn’t quite figure it out. Was he lying to himself? Oh, absolutely. Was he still going to bother someone else to spell it out for him so he wouldn’t have to say it himself? Fuck yes.
“Yo, Dipshit! Why are you so late?”
Danny grinned as he entered the small Gotham coffee shop, just down the street from Wayne Enterprises. It was him and Tim’s favorite place to go for a quick pick-me-up, last time they actually came inside to work they were here for hours just talking and joking…Danny paused, core feeling full to bursting and hurried towards the small booth occupied by Ember and Kitty. The two ghosts decided to form a little group with him a few years back, deciding that since he needed female guidance in his life then it would be them. How they came to that conclusion, he still had no idea, but he appreciated the visits and how they tended to treat him like a little brother. It would make him miss Jazz a lot, but it helped with the ache of losing a nosy older sibling to have the girls in his life.
“I got caught up at work with something earlier,” Danny shrugged, tossing his backpack on the floor by his feet and being careful not to nudge Ember’s guitar case. “Then Tim got mad because I set off the rogue alarm system he set up again.” He waved a hand around, feigning annoyance as he reached for one of the cake pops they ordered for him.
“Oh? Trouble in paradise or are you just being your normal pain in the ass?” Ember smirked, flicking his forehead.
“Ooo is it gossip time?” Kitty squirmed in her seat, a bright smile and hungry eyes trained on Danny. He froze like a deer caught in headlights as she reached out to grip his hand in hers. “So, what’s new? I’ve been dying to know more about you and Timmy! You two are just so cute together–”
Danny cut her off, waving his free hand around and almost smacking Ember with his cake pop. Ignoring her growl though, he told Kitty, “Whoa whoa, Kitty slow down! What are you talking about? Me and Tim are just best friends who work together!”
He felt his heart start pumping harder than it has in years under their scrutiny, both girls staring him down with glowing crimson eyes before he got twin sighs of disappointment. He flicked his head back and forth between them as they shared a look and Ember leaned back in her chair.
“I knew you were a Dipshit, but I didn’t think you were an idiot too,” Ember told him, shaking her head at him. Danny spluttered at her as Kitty reinforced her grip on his hand.
“Danny,” she started, pity but also indignant fury in her eyes. “I love you kid, you’re the little brother I never knew I wanted. But you are fucking stupid, did you know that?”
Danny frowned, finally ripping his hand free from the ghost. “Hey, now this ‘Danny bashing’ is totally uncalled for right now.”
Ember snorted, “It’s totally called for. Our job as your surrogate older sisters is to tell you when you’re being a huge dumbass,” she gestured at her wrist even though she wasn’t wearing a watch. “Well guess what? That time is now! You’ve been in love with Tim for how long now and you’ve done nothing about it?”
Danny gaped at her. In love with Tim? He wasn’t in love with Tim! Sure, they got along great and he was the best friend Danny could have asked for after losing everything in Amity Park. They could talk for hours about anything under the sun and never run out of words, or they could sit in silence together and he’d be so content his core would purr. Yeah, they were best friends and Danny felt comfortable in either form with Tim, knowing that he’d never question or even pay attention to his more eldritch features. Tim would only hold out his cup for more coffee if Danny were to pop up with glowing eyes and sharp teeth out of the floor.
“I’m not–!” He started to deny her claim, but Kitty smacked him in the shoulder. He flinched away and rubbed the spot pitifully (even if it didn’t actually hurt) and she rolled her eyes at him.
Leaning towards him from her side of the booth, Kitty gave him that “don’t you dare mess with me” look he’d seen on Jazz or his mom too many times to count. “Danny, don’t even try denying the truth. We saw firsthand how sad you were when he started dating Bernard.”
“That’s because he wanted to focus on his relationship to avoid any misunderstandings on top of the vigilante stuff, so we didn’t get to hang out as much!” Danny tried defending himself.
“You were walking around like a kicked puppy, moping and throwing puppy dog eyes at Timbo whenever you saw him,” Ember pointed out. “It’s a miracle he didn’t notice sooner, but honestly, for a couple of geniuses you’re both painfully stupid of your surroundings.”
“Exactly,” Kitty agreed, nodding her head.
He didn’t think he was that outwardly upset when Tim dated Bernard for anyone to have really taken notice. Like, an entire family of detectives never said anything to him if they had seen how he felt and they were always complaining how much of an open book Danny was. But these two thought he had been, what, pining? He wasn’t a main character in one of Jason’s historical drama books he loved to read.
Face burning, Danny leaned towards the girls with his hands splayed out on the table and a dark look in his bright green eyes. Glaring at each of his subjects, Danny projected power into his voice as he told them, “How dare you ridicule your King and spread falsehoods?”
He meant to be threatening, but his sisters just laughed at him long enough for Danny to pull his power back into his core so he seemed human once more. Pouting, he fell back into seat and waited for their giggle-fest to end while his heart jack hammered in his chest.
“Danny,” Kitty called out and he turned his attention to her. She gave him a soft smile and tilted her head at him. “I’m going to actually help with this okay? I just need to ask a few questions and I need you to be honest. Do you trust me?”
He sighed in resignation and nodded, sitting up properly to match her pose with his arms on the table and hands fisted together. Despite everything they went through when he was a kid, Danny trusted his after-life with these souls almost as much as he did Dani and Dan, they were his family.
“Okay,” Kitty nodded her head, sending a quick glance at Ember who simply waved her hand for her as if to say “you’ve got the floor”. She smiled and asked Danny, “So, when you think about Tim, how does your core feel? Do it now and tell me.”
Danny paused, surprised that was the first request. But closing his eyes, he imagined Tim on patrol and flying across the roofs of Gotham as his cloak flared out behind him. He saw Tim hunched in a little ball in his chair at the Bat Computer, bundled up in a pile of blankets and clutching a coffee cup like a lifeline as he worked on reports for Batman. He smirked as he saw Tim falling off his skateboard when he boasted about being so great the first time they went out together, head over ass and pouting the whole way home.
Danny felt his core thrum throughout every memory, every flash of Tim’s face that popped up in his mind. It was buzzing faster as he imagined Tim laughing at a dumb joke Danny told him, but it felt as though it had been ignited when he pictured Tim from that morning in the lab. Tim’s lips pursed in concentration, blowing his bangs out of his eyes as he focused on Danny’s drone. His fingers tingled as he remembered how soft Tim’s hair was when it fell between Danny’s fingers, revealing tired gray-blue eyes above pink-dusted cheeks. He felt his core practically burn at the image and wished he could have someone screen shot his mind.
“Well? Danny? Earth to ghost boy?” Kitty prodded him and Danny cleared his throat, reluctantly opening his eyes and training them on the table.
“It vibrated a lot before it felt like…it was on fire,” Danny muttered to her. He was so confused. How does an ice core feel like burning?
Kitty cooed at him while Ember made gagging noises. “ Awe, that’s so sweet! Okay, next question, I promise it’ll be done soon!” She hastily added on, waving her hands at the fiery glare Danny sent her. He felt discombobulated, like he was standing on a tightrope and his body couldn’t decide which way it wanted to fall.
“Now, imagine not having Tim in your life. Think about not what it was like before him, but what it will be like after you lose him–whether it be another relationship or because of your fears or whatever. Then tell me how that feels.” Kitty leaned back into Ember’s side, crossing her arms in self-satisfaction.
Danny glowered at them, grunting as he closed his eyes though and imagined life without Tim after he’s become such a fixture in it. There would be no one storming into his lab to complain about board members or siblings at odd hours of the day. No one to compare notes with for his projects, objectively making his work better by getting Tim’s input and praise. He wouldn’t have a reason to come to the coffee shop multiple times a day, there would be no caffeine addict to supply. It would be difficult to go to the manor anymore, knowing Tim wasn’t there or didn’t want him around, and he would feel like he was losing his family all over again–the Waynes just out of reach. No one else flew through the air on patrol like Tim did, putting their whole body into the action so he could easily grab them and fly them away for real, floating over the city. He wouldn’t get to stargaze in the clouds on nights off with Tim anymore. He wouldn’t have the person he was most comfortable with anymore, unable to simply reach out for a hug or to scratch Tim’s head when he needed to receive or give physical affection.
“Dipshit?” Ember murmured, concern coloring her voice.
Danny sniffled, surprised how hard it was to open his eyes this time. He lifted his hands to his face and felt tears falling rapidly down hot cheeks. A set of cold arms covered in leather wrapped themselves around his waist before another cold arm found its way onto his shoulders, spiky bracelets digging into his skin. He opened his crusted over eyes to see the girls had made their way to his side of the booth, wrapping him up in a comforting embrace as he cried.
“Danny, I’m sorry to push, but can you tell us how you feel with your words?” Kitty asked him, voice a soft whisper but he heard her. Swallowing thickly, Danny nodded absently but took a moment to answer.
Carefully, afraid that his body would betray him and start crying again, Danny answered. His voice thick with emotion he couldn’t describe, he told them, “It felt like…ugh, it was like my core was empty, void of anything. My chest felt like it had a black hole in it and…I don’t ever want to know what a life without him would be like. Just imagining it nearly broke me.”
The girls were silent for a moment as Danny sniffled, trying to stop the flood of tears staining his cheeks. They hugged him a little bit tighter when he shakily inhaled and exhaled, trying to get a normal rhythm back from the sudden onslaught of emotions. Looking down at Kitty’s green dreads he told her, “I blame you for this shit.”
She just laughed, sitting up to face him properly with a bright smile on her face and tears pricking the corners of her own eyes. “That’s okay baby, I’m perfectly alright being at fault for this. But what you’re feeling right now tells you everything you need to know. Can you figure it out?”
Ember shoved him but didn’t say a word as Danny rubbed a hand up his face, a poor attempt to wipe away the tears. He laughed wetly and felt a wobbly smile form on his lips. Peeking through his bangs he told them, “It means I’m madly in love with Tim…and my core can’t bear existence without him anymore.”
“So what are you gonna do about it then Dipshit?” Ember ruffled his hair and Kitty hugged him again as he thought.
What was the best way to confess his feelings where Tim would understand and not kill him for ruining their friendship?
*****************
“Do you really think this plan will work?” Tim muttered, letting himself be subjected to Steph’s dress up game. She was trying to find him an outfit to turn him (in her words) from a “half dead zombie” to a “somewhat alive hobo”. He had honestly no comment on how they could be different, or how a zombie could be described as half-dead like that. Tim just let her do whatever she wanted (a mistake) because nerves were running rampant through him, his brain just going to the worst case scenario every few minutes.
Steph scoffed, “Do you doubt me?”
“Every damn day,” he answered immediately, not paying full attention.
“Rude.” She pricked him with one of his tie pins.
Dick stepped between them before they could start fighting, pushing Steph towards the pile of clothes and kneeling down to crowd Tim’s vision so he could focus on Dick. Tim blinked at the soft uptick to his brother’s lips and took a deep breath to steady his overactive heart. Whoever said you get fucking butterflies thinking of the person you love is wrong. It felt like he just finished a 25K marathon when he thought about Danny since the other day when his siblings pointed out how stupid he is.
“Tim? Do you want to go over your plan again?” Dick asked softly, voice calm as Tim’s legs bounced in place and his palms gradually got clammier. He nodded though and took a deep breath, focusing on the blue of his brother’s eyes.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and methodically recited the plan they came up with for Tim. “I will go up to Danny and tell him that I love him, not just as my best friend, but as something more and that I would like to explore those feelings if he is comfortable with it. I will not push the topic if he is distressed, I’ll back off and go at his pace,” Tim bit his lip worriedly. “But damn I really want him to be interested in me too.”
Dick chuckled, “I know you do Third Bird. I think you’ll be just fine though, all you gotta do is be honest with him and yourself.”
A few days later at the Wayne Enterprises annual holiday party, Tim repeated those words in his mind as he tried to focus on being a good boss for his employees. Batman was called away by Commissioner Gordon earlier in the night, so Tim was alone in performing CEO duties until Bruce maybe got back. But all he could focus on was the possibility of Danny showing up to the party.
The two of them hadn't spoken to each other since that day in Danny's lab, his emotions too much to handle alone--let alone in Danny's presence. Tim was afraid that he'd screw up if left alone with the halfa and say something stupid. So he kept a distance, and it seemed like Danny was too for some reason. His mind couldn't help but supply reasons as to why. Maybe Danny noticed Tim acting strange and put it together he had big feelings for the ghost, effectively scaring him off? Was he upset by the distance Tim unintentionally created and came to his own conclusion he was being abandoned once more?
The intrusive thinking just wouldn't stop, giving Tim one disaster scenario after another that he had to forcibly try and ignore as he smiled genially for investors attending the party. His eyes kept flicking to the entrance for the large ballroom, feeling his heart sink lower and lower as each person who entered wasn't Danny.
What would he do if Danny rejected him? Would they be able to stay friends or teammates even like him and Connor were able to after their failed attempt? Would Danny stop coming around? That one was unlikely, he was all alone and the Waynes had essentially become his family the last few years…which made confessing all the more terrifying to Tim. What if Danny rejected him because he thought that dating or breaking up would cost him another family?
“Mr. Drake? Sorry to bother you, but have you seen Nightingale tonight? He was supposed to turn in a report today and I haven't seen him.” Danny’s direct supervisor popped up next to him, startling Tim out of his thoughts. He blinked owlishly at the man, straightening his posture and clearing his throat a few times, glancing around the room once more.
“I'm not sure Mr. Orville,” Tim started to respond before he was cut off by the man slapping his hands.
“Ah-hah! There he is, that little pain in my ass--excuse my language sir,” Orville exclaimed, turning away from Tim with a nod as he headed towards the entrance. Tim whipped his head around so fast he heard it crack, but paid it no mind when he saw Danny himself.
He felt his heart flutter annoyingly as he observed Danny's appearance. He wasn’t wearing a full suit like Tim, but the nice dress shirt Alfred gifted him for his birthday looked very nice on him--especially where he rolled the sleeves up his arms. The halfa actually looked like he took a brush to his hair for the first time in years, royal blue tie loosely knotted around his neck, and a bright smile to pair with it. Tim couldn't stop staring as he felt his body sway forward towards Danny but not moving an inch, too scared to approach.
Danny fixed that problem for him though, he'd always been the braver one of them whether he knew it or not. He waved off his supervisor with a professional laugh and a punch to his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Tim when he turned. Danny waved at him and Tim awkwardly moved his hand back in a way that reminded him of teaching Connor Earth mannerisms. I'm such a loser, Tim groaned inwardly as Danny began pushing through the crowd to reach him.
“Hey,” Danny started, breathless from his rush across the room. Tim smiled against his will, sure that his eyes were probably soft as fuck.
“Hey,” Tim mirrored. He mentally slapped himself. He couldn't come up with anything better than copying a “hey”?
But Danny huffed a quiet laugh, bobbing back and forth on his feet as he fidgeted. Peeking up at Tim through his bangs (that felt like cheating, holy shit he was adorable) with his eyes crinkled, Danny shot him a little smile. Tim felt like they were trapped in their own personal bubble, all the people talking and music playing disappearing as all he focused on was Danny's expressions.
He unconsciously stretched a hand out against his side towards Danny, retracting it as soon as he realized how weird that was. But Danny was faster, reaching out and snatching Tim's hand before it could move too far away. He froze, transfixed, as he held eye contact with Danny who was rubbing circles with his thumb on the back of Tim's hand. What was happening?
Breath caught in his throat, Tim watched wide eyed as Danny pulled his hand to rest on Danny’s chest, eyes never leaving Tim's. He licked his lips, swallowing so thickly he saw the halfa's Adam's apple bob and Tim almost couldn't pull his eyes away from the sight. But Danny clearing his throat managed the impossible and Tim returned his gaze to Danny's face, seeing the pinched edge to his mouth and the little bit of sweat dripping down his jaw.
Tim moved imperceptibly closer to Danny, wanting to be closer even if he still couldn't get words to work right now. But he didn't think anyone could blame him when he was so close to the man he loved. Danny slowly worked an arm around Tim's waist, pulling him even closer but still giving him some space to move away if he wanted to and Tim felt secure in Danny's grip.
“Tim, there is something really important I need to talk to you about,” Danny began, laughing at himself. “I didn't know how to do it, except in person, but we haven’t really seen each other lately so I figured this year I'd make sure I made it to the stupid holiday party.”
They chuckled together, heads drifting closer and Danny swallowed again. “But, I recently had it pointed out to me that I am a huge fucking idiot and uh…”
Tim smirked, finally able to respond. He ran a finger from his trapped hand across Danny's throat. “You too then?”
“Huh?” Danny blinked at him, eyes following Tim's finger as it dragged languidly across his throat. Tim snickered at the cross eyed look it gave the halfa.
Tim smiled, heart full as he observed the idiot he was in love with. No matter the amount of catastrophizing he did could change his feelings or how he would never regret them. Besides, he had a good feeling about tonight, warmth filling his veins.
“Danny,” he whispered, waiting for the man's eyes to focus back on him. When they did, Tim smiled with his whole heart at him. “I love you.”
He felt his fingers tingling with nerves as he waited for a response, Danny's shocked expression all he saw for a precious few seconds. Right when he was feeling ready to bolt though, Danny's eyes glowed and flicked upwards for a second before his lips were on Tim's.
He let out a small noise of surprise before closing his eyes, leaning up to change the angle of the kiss and feeling the pressure of Danny pushing him backwards a little. He gripped Tim around the waist tighter and he felt absolutely surrounded by Danny Nightingale. Tim loved every second of it as he felt their lips slide over each other, little puffs of air escaping as they danced before the halfa pulled away from him. Tim opened his eyes slowly but blinked rapidly when he couldn't focus right away. When he could see through the pleasured haze, he saw a smirking Danny with swollen lips.
Now that is a nice sight…
“There was mistletoe,” Danny told him, nudging his chin at the ceiling above them. Tim cocked his head because he didn't remember approving mistletoe as part of the decorations, that would be an HR nightmare. Glancing up however, he giggled when he saw mistletoe hanging in the air a few feet from their heads only and glowing ectoplasm green.
Tim rolled his eyes, chin still tilted up but eyes trained on Danny's. The halfa released Tim's hand and reached up to brush Tim's bangs out of his eyes, more focused on playing with his hair than the blatant use of powers in front of civilians. “Gee, I wonder how that got there?” He asked sarcastically, twisting his fingers in the collar of Danny's shirt.
“Totally weird right?” Danny replied calmly, smiling as he ran his hand over Tim's jaw. “Great timing though, I'm terrible with words and I’ve been dying to kiss you.”
“I still wanna hear the words though,” Tim nudged his nose against Danny's chin while the halfa's hand moved to rub the knots in his neck. It was heavenly. “Consider it my Christmas present?”
Danny let out a put-upon sigh that had Tim rolling his eyes and biting the man's chin. Danny growled lightly and pulled him away by the hair at the nape of his neck, eyes burning as he watched Tim's lips pull into a dimpled smile. He leaned towards the vigilante, kissing him lightly on the cheek and whispering, “I love you, Timothy Drake-Wayne.”
Best holiday party ever,
Tim thought as he pulled the man in for another kiss. He ignored the knowledge his siblings were nearby cheering and Babs was probably roped in at some point to record all of this. He simply enjoyed kissing his best friend.